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Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

#561

Samsara [1] is not a typical documentary, but is well worth watching. It's visually stunning, and gives the viewer a great sense of the mechanisms of civilization. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2011_film)

Samsara and Baraka are both great!

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

#562
"Pina"[1] by Wim Wenders (2011).

It's special because IMO it's one of those very rare 3D movies that really was thought out and precisely tailored for its medium, 3D cinema. It must be seen in 3D, in a theatre, to get its full splendour, with life-size dancers on screen. It's available on Amazon Prime though it probably loose 90% of its magic on a TV.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pina_(film)

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

#563
post #63

“The Century of the Self” by Adam Curtis. https://youtu.be/eJ3RzGoQC4s It goes through each decade of the 1900s and explains how Freud’s psychology and the new field of marketing completely reshaped society. For the first time in my life I feel like I understood the “why” of how things work in American society. This film is probably best if you’re age 40+ and actually remember some of the events.

Amazed given the site we are on nobody mentions "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" by Curtis. I loved it, even being in the industry at the center of the topic. However the narrative is judged, it at least has a spark I find has died in our own.

I was really pleased to find this on The Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-...

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

#564

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to nitpick but The World at War is Thames Television. I think they became ITV. I also used to think it was BBC because of the quality and dignity of the production, I wouldn't be surprised to hear some people claim this is an example of the Mandela effect.

Yes it was originally made by Thames Television. Now only available on DVD as far as I can tell.

They can be found on DailyMotion.

https://www.dailymotion.com/brutalcombat/videos

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

#565

Gary Hustwits design trilogy: Helvetica - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvetica_(film) “about typography and graphic design, centered on the eponymous typeface.” Objectified - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectified “examining the role of everyday non-living objects, and the people who design them, in our daily lives.” Urbanized - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanized “discusses how cities are designed, a…

Another masterpiece of his is https://www.hustwit.com/rams and I'm quoting directly from the website:

> Rams is a documentary portrait of Dieter Rams, one of the most influential designers alive, and a rumination on consumerism, sustainability, and the future of design.

I watched it during initial COVID lockdown when Gary offered it for free for 24 hours it was an amazing experience to watch...and I'm a programmer, not a designer (LOL!) and loved it like crazy!

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

#567
post #62

Einstein's Brain "English filmmaker Kevin Hull crossed America in search of the truth about the stolen brains, together with the Japanese scientist Kenji Sugimoto, who has been studying Einstein for over thirty years." https://www.idfa.nl/en/film/35af3499-a6ce-498f-a5ae-cbba455e... The only issue is good luck finding a legitimate copy anywhere. https://youtube.com/watch?v=xM4m-Z0nAio Edit: Triumph of the Will https:/…

Forgot all about Orozco the Embalmer, from Wiki:

It follows a Colombian embalmer named Froilan Orozco Duarte, who is shown living in El Cartucho, an impoverished and crime-ridden area of Bogotá, Colombia, where the homicide rate is high and corpses can be seen on the streets.

This does show him working on corpses, children included very NSFW.

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

#568
Apocalypse: World War I - https://g.co/kgs/LZYDKi

It's impossible to understand the twentieth century without understanding WWI, which is why this outstanding documentary is so crucial. Parts are very hard to watch, but you need to. I was amazed by how much footage exists from WWI.

[Bonus] Apocalypse: Stalin - https://g.co/kgs/Ypj5sX

A subsequent offering by the same filmmakers. Also excellent.

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